If performance and display quality for tasks such as graphic design or video editing are priorities, the Apple MacBook Pro 16" with its high-resolution Mini LED screen, powerful Apple M3 Pro processor, and excellent build quality is recommended despite its premium price. For more intensive gaming or needing a dedicated graphics card for 3D work, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" offers an Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU and a larger screen, but at a lower resolution and reduced color accuracy. The MacBook Pro offers longer battery life and a more compact design for better portability, while the Legion 5 provides a number pad on the keyboard and potentially better heat management for extended gaming sessions, at a lower price point but with significantly heavier weight and shorter battery life. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.8/10
7.2/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for general use, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16, with its high-resolution Mini LED screen, long battery life, and lightweight design, is exceptionally suited for general use that values portability and display quality, complemented by a robust CPU and abundant RAM.
Engineering and Design
8.9/10
7.6/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
6.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) excels in engineering and design due to its powerful Apple M3 Pro processor and GPU, which likely offer superior performance and efficiency for demanding software, along with its high-quality Mini LED screen that ensures vibrant colors and sharp images.
Content Creation
8.9/10
7.2/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.9/10
7.0/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
18.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) is very good for software development, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
9.3/10
7.3/10
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 5 17" for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is superior for general use and engineering with its high-resolution display, exceptional brightness, and comprehensive coverage of color gamuts, ensuring precise color accuracy crucial for design work. Meanwhile, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" offers a decent general experience and adequate color reproduction for engineering tasks, though it isn't as bright or color-accurate as the MacBook Pro. However, for 3D applications and gaming where smooth visuals are a priority, both laptops may fall short due to lower refresh rates compared to more specialized systems designed for these tasks.
Battery
17.5 Hours
4.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has 4.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Good
Poor
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
6.5 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has good portability, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has best in class build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$1,200
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) has a price of $2,499 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" costs $1,200.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) excels in 3D tasks with its high-performance GPU and large Mini LED display that has a high refresh rate, but its MacOS may not support many popular games. The Lenovo Legion 5 17", on the other hand, boasts a dedicated gaming GPU and a high refresh rate screen with Windows OS, making it better suited for gaming and supporting a wider range of titles.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
"The Lenovo Legion 5 17 is a current-gen 17-inch gaming laptop and equipped with the latest AMD CPU and a powerful GPU, that manages to reach its full potential. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H is a very good choice for this laptop and able to maintain its performance level for long periods of time. Our test model only falls behind consistently in a direct comparison with its competitors that are often equipped with eight cores and 16 threads. Despite this, the Legion 5 17 leaves an excellent impression and is almost able to keep up with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 mobile GPU in synthetic benchmarks."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2023) or the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.